Coral Springs Public School staff will be equipped with wearable panic buttons to enhance emergency alert systems

Coral Springs, Florida – Employees of Coral Springs public schools are set to don panic buttons attached to lanyards. When activated, these buttons will swiftly notify first responders and those in the vicinity of an emergency situation.

This week, the Broward School Board made a unanimous decision to acquire panic buttons, which will take the place of the current app utilized by school staff.

All district-issued devices have the app installed. Nonetheless, district documents indicate that school officials are unable to compel employees to install the app on their personal devices.

The district can guarantee that every staff member is equipped with a wearable panic button, providing complete access to a panic alert system.

Lori Ahladeff, a member of the school board and mother of a victim from the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas tragedy, led the initiative in Florida in 2020 to enact Alyssa’s Law.

Schools are mandated to implement a mobile panic alert system called Alyssa’s Alert, which links directly to first responders.

Prior to the school board’s vote, Ahladeff displayed a photograph of her daughter and shared that she and her husband established a nonprofit organization called Make Our Schools Safe following the tragic murder of Alyssa.

“Our efforts for school safety and the passage of Alyssa’s Law are relentless, not just in Florida, but in six other states across the nation, with the ultimate aim of achieving nationwide implementation,” she stated.

A newly implemented alert system will enable first responders to accurately locate emergencies by specifying the floor and room number involved.

According to district documents, a visual strobe will activate in every classroom, hallway, and common area, alerting everyone in the building to respond without delay.